(SPOT.ph) Cebu City is a highly urbanized area in the province of Cebu, which means to say that it has its own share of traffic jams and inconveniences in public transportation. Finally, after a five-year delay, the Department of Transportation is opening a segment of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit and it's happening in 2021, according to a press statement released on January 25.
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Rapid Transit System in Cebu
In a meeting on January 20, Transport Secretary Arthur P. Tugade ordered round-the-clock construction work with three shifts. He reiterated that at least 90% of project's personnel must be Cebuanos.
"While I’m addressing our program of projects, I am addressing the need of the economy and I’m addressing the requirements of the pandemic," the Transport chief said.
The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is a 13.2-kilometer bus rapid transit lane starting from South Road Properties and ending at IT Park. It is poised to have 17 stations, two terminals, and one depot. There are also sidewalk bus stops for three routes: Cebu IT Park-Talamban, Mambaling-Bulacao, and Talisay- SRP. It is expected that the Cebu BRT will serve up to 60,000 passengers daily. Package 1, which is targeted to be completed this 2021, covers 2.6 kilometers with four stations.
The project was originally targeted to be operational by October 2016, but a slow procurement process for consulting services and civil works caused the delay. This eventually resulted in low availment of loan proceeds, the accummulation of commitment fees, and other "unnecessary administrative cost[s]." The Cebu BRT project costs U.S. $198 million with loans from the World Bank and the French government through the French Development Agency.
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